Half of My Heart
by heart dipped in invisible ink
Summary: And she cries, clenching her eyes shut but forcing out a painful smile. Whether the shock of loss was for her sister or for Silas, she would probably never know. Set several years after the ending in Sisters Red.
1. the hidden heart

_the hidden heart_

"Scarlett," he says to me, tears streaming down his cheeks, "You promised."

I did, and I know that I will have to go through with this, no matter how much I do not want to.

My feet take small, slow steps toward a kneeling Silas with his head bowed to me, as if to prolong the inevitable. I stop a few inches away from him and grip my hatchet tightly. One second passes. And then another. But nothing happens.

I'm supposed to kill him but why can't I force my hand to swing down the axe? If I didn't kill him now he would definitely go after Rosie. But if I did then there would be no more Silas. His kind face, his warm eyes, his strong hands, his friendship…I would be killing everything that I loved about him. But I didn't love him. No, I _don't_ love him. I don't. I don't. The only person in this world that I can't live without is Rosie. I can live without Silas. I can.

My hands tremble and I feel the need to wretch and cry and scream about the unfairness of it all.

He tries to coach me through it all, but I try still try to object. And then the churches' mechanical bells chime loudly, marking the turn of midnight.

I fall to my knees, disbelief coloring both of our faces as we try to make sense of what has happened. The annoying ringing of the church bells have become something akin to a wonderful revelation, a miracle in the making. I take his hand in mine and revel in the warmth that it gives me, and for a moment, I feel a great surging within my heart, so powerful and hauntingly painful. I wonder for a fleeting second on whether or not Silas can feel what I am feeling now.

Hands intertwined, hearts beating as one, we stare at each other in awe.

But then Rosie's cries rip us away from this silent haven of ours and I release Silas' hands to crawl to my sister.

And when Rosie and Silas collapse into each other, folding, and melding their bodies, I cannot but feel a bitter happiness for them.

* * *

><p>So I finally finished Sisters Red! And while the plot was pretty unique and interesting, I wasn't all that thrilled with the ending. I don't know about anybody else, but I kinda felt like I had been punched in the gut when the revelation that Scarlett would never end up with Silas hit me. So this mini-story is going to compensate all my girly fantasies. They will have a happy fantasy dammit!<p>

And ummm... was it just me, or were any of you really confused with the ending, you know, when the clock struck midnight or something? I didn't really get that part...hahahahaha... So if any of the story information is wrong please tell me!


	2. the secret thoughts

_the secret thoughts_

When you told me that you had loved me, I was shell-shocked. It felt as if you had torn my heart—no _half_ of my heart from its place-hold inside my chest. I had clutched at my shirt where my heart should have been and gripped that spot tightly, as if just by holding it the pain would simply wither away. Even now, your voice still rings inside my head: _I wanted you._

Wanted me, I muse to myself on a cold winter morning, all alone inside this tiny cottage where there had been so much life and laughter before. Does that mean you don't want me anymore? I sigh and shake my head violently, hoping that this would rid of these traitorous thoughts from my head. "Stop being so stupid," I say to myself aloud, the words bouncing off the paper thin walls. "It's not as if you could have done anything about it, like you could have actually returned his feelings." This does not make me feel any better, if anything, it makes me feel even worse.

But it's true. I would never, ever be able to give him the love that he had been searching for. I had already dedicated myself to the destruction of Fenris. I pause momentarily at the open closet door, where my tattered crimson cloak hangs, still and lifeless. Without me, the cloak that symbolizes my lust for blood and vengeance is nothing. Just like how I am nothing without my never-ending goal of the Fenris' obliteration. This was not the case with my dear little sister, who had wanted something more, something beyond the glorious hunt. And she had found that something in Silas, my best friend, my partner.

I cannot help but resent Rosie's desires. But what I hate most is the fact that I recognize the feelings of abandonment and jealousy coursing through my veins.


	3. the unexpected surprise

It is 2:47 a.m. when I finally arrive home. There is blood splattered across my face and two long gashes run down both my arms stinging me with a sharp, needle-like pain with every movement I make as I limp with my sprained ankle down the road to the house. Regardless of my current condition, I am still in good spirits due to the fact that I have managed to kill four Fenris on my midnight outing. The world feels like a better place already.

As I near the house, I notice two shadowed figures waiting on the front porch. To the side, a rickety, old shape of a car rests in the driveway. For a moment, I believe that the two dark outlines waiting at my door are Fenris. But upon closer inspection I notice the familiar features displayed in the moonlight. It is Silas who notices me first. "Lett!" he calls out into the dark night without a care in the world, bounding across the front lawn to get to me. Rosie follows closely at his heels.

My heart leaps at the sound of his voice, but immediately I chastise myself and shoot down the fluttering hope and longing inside of me. Why? Why now, after all these years do I feel this way? There must be something wrong with the water I am drinking. That must be the answer to my irrationality that is affecting my thoughts at this very moment. But I mustn't let this get to me, especially not when the person running around in my mind, messing up the order of things—the way things are supposed to be is standing right before me.

Ignoring the rush of confusion in my mind, I grin and greet him with as much enthusiasm as a _friend_ should. "Silas! Rosie! What are you doing here?"

"What? Is it so strange to have one's own flesh and blood visit them?" teases Rosie, with a silly little grin on her face.

"Well, no I guess not," I say grinning back at her, "But what's with the surprise visit? You guys usually call me in advance to tell me when you're visiting—or else you would risk the chance of having me accidentally chop your head off with my hatchet in a panic."

Rosie laughs delightedly as she grabs my hands and pulls me towards the house with Silas trailing after us. "Well we survived your raging panic this time didn't we? But, oh! We have so much we want to tell you Scarlett! And wait till you hear the good news!"

She lets go of my hands so that I can unlock the door, but she continues to chatter happily to me. At opportune and inopportune times, Silas adds in his own comments but mostly lets Rosie do the talking. And it feels as if they had never left home all those years ago.

* * *

><p>I drop my glass and it tumbles to the ground, shattering into a million miniscule sharp shards.<p>

"What?" I squawk loudly, disbelief coloring my tone, causing both Silas and Rosie to wince. "Y-you… you and Silas are getting married?" Something explodes inside of me, some strong emotion that makes me want to cry bitter tears and rejoice in their happiness at the same time. My hand is twitching, something that only happens when I am under extreme pressure; and I can only hope that Rosie and Silas don't notice my unease.

In sync, my sister and my best friend bob their heads up and down in affirmation. "Yes, we…we are," Rosie says attentively.

"That's the main reason why we came to visit," adds Silas, "We figured that it would be better to tell you the news in person than over the phone."

They both look at me with fearful expressions, as if one look, one wrong move could send me into frenzy. Carefully, I reel back in my frightening expression and replace it with a slow, tired smile; maybe they won't notice my envy, my loneliness, and my pain.

I let out a weak laugh. "You guys don't hold back, do you? First a surprise visit, then the news of your engagment, and now you're getting married in two weeks? What next? Wait don't tell me... you're not pregnant are you Rosie?"

Rosie lets out an indignant squeak, her whole face turning a bright red.

Silas lets out an amused snort.

I just shake my head and give a pained smile.


	4. the resilient hero

_the resilient hero_

It's the little things that Silas does that makes me realize that _yes_, I am in love with him; but at the same time, it makes me want to hate him.

When he smiles, I feel like my world has brightened.

When he laughs, I can't help but laugh along with him.

When he touches my arm lightly, I want to tell him that I regret not realizing my feelings for him sooner.

But I refuse to tell him that and I refuse to embrace these feeling for him. If I do, then I have truly betrayed Rosie; I could not live with myself if I did.

I won't be _the other woman_. I won't try to win back his affections. I won't do anything that will give him cause to fall in love with me.

I am a hero, to both the world and to my little sister. I refuse to betray either of them for my selfish desires.

* * *

><p>Well, <em>hello<em> there emotional baggage of Scarlett. Aren't you the prettiest little lump of angst?

But seriously. I feel bad for writing angst and somehow I enjoy writing it. As you all can see, I am a very twisted person.

HAH. NOT REALLY.


	5. the unraveling truth

I stare at the guest list in front of me with incredulity. "_This_ is it?"

Besides me, Silas hums some sort of affirmation, never looking up from some random food magazine.

"_These_ are all the people that are coming? Are you guys serious?"

"Yes, Lett, yes we are."

I slam my palm onto the sheet of paper in front of me and proceed to stare at Silas.

"Can I help you with something, Lett?" Apparently Silas is all wit and sarcasm now.

"At this rate, the only person that's actually coming to the wedding is me! You _know_ that your brothers won't come!"

"I'm sure they'll come," muttered Silas with a slightly hopeful expression. "Come on, Scarlett. It's not that big of a deal, you know."

I narrow my eyes at him and ground out, "Yes it _is._ And dammit, Silas, if you two are going to have a proper wedding, then I'm willing to go through hell and back to make it happen."

Because I'm not letting my heart feel like it's being ripped out over some crappy, sham of a wedding.

He sighs and places the magazine down on the table and turns towards me. "Lett, calm down. It's fine if only you come to the wedding; you being there is enough for us." He stares at me for a long while and I start to feel twitchy under his watchful gaze. "And could you not bleed all over the table like that? You're soaking the guest list with your blood."

I retract my hand back and glare at him balefully. "Well it's not like you'll need that stupid sheet of paper anyway. And dammit, where the hell is Rosie?" With a swift spin on my heel, I march out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Rosie! Where are you?"

"She's out getting some gauze and cream for you wounds," Silas called out from behind me.

I sigh irritably and grab for my blood-soaked cloak. "I'm going out to find her then. It's late out; the time when Fenris are usually prowling around. I'll be bac-

A sudden grip on my hand prevents me from walking out the door, and somehow Silas manages to invade my personal space when I turn around to face him.

"Lett, relax. I know this wedding's gotten you all high-strung, but seriously. _Relax_."

The fact that his face is so close to mine doesn't really help my current situation.

"Silas...," I breathe out and I close my eyes tightly.

Please don't hear my frantic heartbeat. Please don't touch me any longer than you need to. Please don't break my slowly mending heart.

I feel Silas tense up. "Lett..."

My hand twitches slightly, and before I realize what I am doing, I quickly bring my hand up and punch Silas in the face. He immediately lets go of me and stumbles back a few steps from the impact.

"Scarlett! What the hell is wrong with you?" he cries out in pain, nursing his throbbing cheek. I can't help but feel a grim satisfaction at this.

"Don't touch me," I say coldly and yank the door open to step outside. "Just don't talk to me for a while, okay? I don't want to see your face; it's giving me a nasty headache just looking at it."

"Wait, Scarlett-

"Look," I say with a softer tone once I hear his confusion. "I'll be back in a few hours; I just need some time to think, okay? And I'm sorry I punched you—this wedding is affecting me more than it really should."

And with that said, I slam the door in his face.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, I'm not really sure where I'm heading with this story, but...meh. I'll just go with the flow.

And is it bad that I laughed while making Scarlett punch Silas? I mean, I know that I'm giving Scarlett some emotional baggage and all, but still...


End file.
